The iPad Projects

While using an iPad with a projector seems like an
after-thought for Apple, you just need to use the right projector. Epson’s
MegaPlex MG-50 not only can hold and charge the pad as it puts selected items
on the screen but plays the pad’s audio through its speakers.

The key to the Megaplex MG-50’s success in the classroom
is a pull out tray that contains an iPad connector and works with all three
generations of the hardware. There’s a guide that can hold the pad’s screen up
and allow a teacher or kid to navigate as its contents are showed to the class.
While it works with iPhones, iPads and iPod touch and nano models, the iPad
blocks the USB cable connection on the back of the projector.

Although the MG-50 helps, the iPad – unlike Windows and
Android tablets – can’t project whatever is shown on its screen. Forget about
working with most apps and the browser because the projector is limited to
showing photos, videos and audio, but the later needs to be in iTunes. It can
work with Netflix and YouTube apps, but not much more. It’s more than enough to
teach with because the projector has a good assortment of ports, including
HDMI, Composite- and Component-Video and VGA. On the other hand, the projector
lacks both wired and wireless networking.

A big bonus is the inclusion of a microphone jack so that
the projector can double as a classroom PA system. It has a pair of ported
speakers that sound quite good, regardless of whether it’s playing Pachebel’s
Canon or a YouTube video on how to solve an inequality.

Inside are three 0.54-inch LCD panels that can show a
modest 960 by 540 resolution. Epson’s MG-850HD model increases the resolution
to 1,280 by 800. Like many other Epson projectors, the MG-50 has vertical and
horizontal keystone correction as well as mounting points underneath for
putting it on a ceiling, although this cuts into its iPad advantage. It is one
of the rare projectors these days that lacks a zoom lens.

Although it is rated at 2,200 lumens, the MG-50 put 2,343
lumens onto the test screen in Dynamic mode, although it gives everything a bluish
green cast. The Living Room setting looks much better and rated a reasonable
1,684 lumens, which should be fine for most schoolroom uses, although its image
can get washed out on a sunny day.

While it’s being used, the MG-50 uses 259 watts, which
drops to zero when the projector is turned off. Along with the $200 replacement
lamp, which is rated to last 4,000 hours, the MG-50 should cost about $130 a
year if it’s used for 8 hours every school day, based on the national average
cost of electricity of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The remote control is minimalist compared to other Epson
projectors and has neither a laser pointer nor a software one. It does have a
coffee cup logo that fades the video to white and mutes the audio for a quick
word from the teacher.

It can’t, however control the Pad. That’s where Satechi’s
MediaRemote comes in. Weighing less than an ounce and smaller than the tiniest
cell phone, the micro-remote connects with an iPad via Bluetooth and lets you
control the pad’s most important functions. Like the projector, the projecting
abilities of the remote are limited to those that the pad can do. It, though, is
a nice complement to an iPad and MG-50 projector. It also works with Macintosh
computers.

Connecting the MediaRemote to the MG-50 projector is
about as simple as it gets because the remote has a tiny numeric keypad for
entering the Bluetooth passcode. The keys are too small for most grown-up
fingers, so have a pencil handy to punch in numbers when connecting the remote.
Expect it’ll take a minute the first time and the unit has a 40-foot range.

In addition to returning to the Home screen, it can play
videos as well as control the volume or mute it. For newer iPads, the remote
can control the camera’s shutter so that the class photo can include the
teacher. With Keynote, the MediaRemote can control presentation slides from
anywhere in the classroom. It’s an improvement but too much time is spent going
back and forth between working the screen and the remote.

The Megaplex MG-50 and MediaRemote are two of a kind and
can team up to make classroom a more digital friendly place for less than the
typical projector does on its own.

Permalink URL for this entry:http://blogs.scholastic.com/techtools/2012/09/the-ipad-projects.html

This article is incorrect--thanks to Air Play or by using Apple TV, you can use many different kinds of projectors with the iPad wirelessly. While the projector described is a decent projector--its use would limit you severely.

For those of you who already have an LCD projector and laptop, I suggest using Reflection App (http://www.reflectionapp.com). It's a simple way to project what you are doing on your iPad screen to an LCD screen wirelessly. This gives you the freedom to take that iPad anywhere in your classroom... in your hands or the hands of your students. Check it out!